I am not a Lyle Lovett fan, but I am a human being. Because I am a human being, I am ABSOLUTELY a fan of this tune. One of the happiest days in my life may have been the day I walked off a hangover into the DC Farmers’ Market and saw a folk band playing the song. If it hadn’t been in DC it would have been the HAPPIEST…

Is there any chance I could go see Bret Michaels and skip everything besides this?

I saw the Pietasters most recently at Artscape this summer. They were fantastic. They always are.

Virginia Coalition is ABSOLUTELY the best band you’re not listening to. Unless you’re not listening to U2. There aren’t people that don’t listen to U2, are there?

I start with Brett Dennen, whose tune “Comeback Kid (That’s My Dog)” I play regularly on “The Reality Check”-a fine radio program that airs Monday-Friday 2-6pm on AM1570 WNST.net. You should really be listening…

Then there’s Robert Randolph. Holy hell I have no idea how many times I could possibly post this video. It’s just…it’s just…it’s just amazing.

Bob Schneider’s “Honeypot” is one of the most underrated songs of 2011…

My buddy Chad Lamasa and I are headed to see the Fighters of Foo Friday night. He got the tickets, so I have to bring the Mentos. They kick a little ass…

I REALLY shouldn’t enjoy Chris Daughtry, but I totally do. I wish he was bringing Timbaland to Fairfax with him…

Fitz and the Tantrums are one of my absolute favorite bands of 2011. Before you watch a video of them playing with Daryl Hall, let’s debate whether it would be more fun to spell favorite “favourite”. I say yes.

If you’re not stoked for Rockapella, you and I disagree on the topic. I respect your feelings however.

I believe Pauly Shore was voted “Most likely Hollywood star to be playing at a joint called Magooby’s Joke House in the future” 15 years ago. I’d call his fall from stardom surprising if it was. It isn’t.

Meanwhile Leonardo DiCaprio was voted “Most likely Hollywood star to be releasing another awesome movie this week” about 10 minutes ago. He’s so freaking good. The J. Edgar Hoover movie looks incredible, but it would take a lot of work for someone to make a movie half as good as “Catch Me If You Can”…

I’m going to do my best to come by the Irish Festival Saturday. Mostly because I want to eat a meal that resembles this…

I’ve had my ass kicked a bit over not being more familiar with the Jayhawks until recently. They’re quite good…

The name Dick Dale might not mean a lot to you, but if you listen to “The Reality Check” on AM1570 WNST.net (and why wouldn’t you?), you’d be familiar with the theme to “Totally Tubular.” (Someone will yell at me for not also noting that Dick Dale is one of the greatest surf guitarists of all time. I’ve handled that now.)…

They played the Bolts close. I’m stunned, but I don’t think they’re any good.

31. Indianapolis Colts (LW: 31)

Like with KC, I was surprised the Colts were able to keep it close against the Steelers. That being said, they worked out Brodie Croyle. Jim Irsay’s Twitter feed is more significant than this football team.

30. Miami Dolphins (LW: 27)

They’re probably not this bad, but that doesn’t matter when you’re 0-3.

29. Jacksonville Jaguars (LW: 29)

I assume Blaine Gabbert is better than Luke McCown. I assume.

28. Minnesota Vikings (LW: 28)

They’ve shown me a couple more signs than the other winless teams, but only a couple.

27. Seattle Seahawks (LW: 30)

Tavaris Jackson won a game. So you know, he’s got that going for him. Which is nice.

26. Cincinnati Bengals (LW: 24)

They play pretty good defense, but Andy Dalton is their quarterback. Perhaps Marvin Lewis should hold off on guaranteeing wins.

25. St. Louis Rams (LW: 21)

I thought they would be better before the start of the season. They’ve played three at least fairly good teams. I’m convinced Sam Bradford still makes them better than their record shows.

24. Denver Broncos (LW: 22)

Play Tim Tebow. Or don’t. They’re not gonna win many games either way.

23. Carolina Panthers (LW: 23)

A win over the Jags is one thing, but the visit to The Windy City will be tougher for Cam Newton and company.

22. San Francisco 49ers (LW: 26)

The NFC West is such garbage.

21. Arizona Cardinals (LW: 19)

The NFC West is such garbage.

20. Cleveland Browns (LW: 25)

Fans in Ohio should probably go ahead and get a screencap of the AFC North standings this week.

19. Tennessee Titans (LW: 20)

They won two games with Kenny Britt. You think they’ll win more than that without?

18. Washington Redskins (LW: 15)

I’d like to think they’ll be .500 after their trip to “The Lou”, but I saw the Rams last week.

17. Chicago Bears (LW: 13)

Their losses are to the Saints and Packers. I still don’t think they’re great.

Freefest isn’t for me this year, but as a Phoenix Coyotes fan I’ll be singing along to the Black Keys somewhere in my house…

Everyone’s heard of Incubus, but perhaps no one had heard of Young The Giant before they rocked the MTV Video Music Awards. A shame, they’re awesome…

I like Eric Church so much I almost want to move to North Carolina…and never root for the Tar Heels.

Another radio station is hooking up with the Ravens to put on the Thursday night show at PPL. I’m not going to give them free promotion, but the station name rhymes with “Finety Feight Frock.” I’m cised. LOVE Chevelle…

GREENSBORO, N.C. – A home-and-home series with Duke and North Carolina, as well as non-conference matchups with postseason participants from the Big East, Atlantic-10 and Big Ten highlight the 2011-12 University of Maryland men’s basketball schedule announced Tuesday by the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Terrapins will play at least 16 games against teams that participated in the NCAA or NIT postseason tournaments a year ago. Maryland is currently scheduled to play 12 times in the regular season on national television.

A limited number of season tickets are available for sale to the general public. Fans can take advantage of a six-month, no-interest payment plan and can become a season ticket-holder for as low as $77 per month per ticket. For more information, fans can call the Terrapin Ticket Office at 1-800-IM-A-TERP.

““We have a very challenging schedule set up for this season,” said first-year head coach Mark Turgeon. “The non-conference games will showcase a lot of different styles of play and levels of teams that will help prepare us for the ACC. With a loaded Puerto Rico Tip-Off plus Illinois, Notre Dame and Temple, we should have a solid RPI heading into league play.”

Highlighting the non-conference schedule is a home matchup with Illinois on Nov. 29 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Terrapins’ next game, on Sunday, Dec. 4, will mark their annual trip to play in the BB&T Classic at Verizon Center in Washington, with this year’s opponent being Notre Dame.

Maryland also faces a non-conference battle with a postseason participant from a year ago on Jan. 21 when it plays Temple at the storied Palestra in Philadelphia.

This year’s early-season tournament is the Puerto Rico Tip-Off from Nov. 17 through 20. The Terrapins open with Alabama in the first round, then will face either Colorado or Wichita State in the second round. All three of those teams reached the NIT semifinals last year.

In addition to Duke and North Carolina, Maryland will also play ACC home-and-home series against Virginia, Georgia Tech and Miami. The Terrapins will play one game each at home against Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Boston College, and will make trips to play their only regular-season meetings with NC State, Florida State and Clemson.

Maryland will play six straight home games between Dec. 7 and Jan. 3 before its conference opener at NC State on Sunday, Jan. 8. The homestand includes a Saturday matinee matchup on New Year’s Eve with Samford University.

Regional broadcast selections for non-conference games will be announced at a later date, with the game times for those contests potentially changing. All conference games carried by either the ACC Network or another regional sports network will also be available on the Internet on ESPN3.com.

The Terrapins make their first Comcast Center appearance under Turgeon on Friday, Oct. 14 when they host Maryland Madness. There will be an exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 4 against Northwood in advance of the regular-season home opener against UNC Wilmington on Nov. 13.